Personal income in Etowah County rose in 2010

Published: Saturday, August 20, 2011 at 6:01 a.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, August 20, 2011 at 8:49 p.m.

Personal income in Etowah County was up in 2010, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

A BEA report looking at the 366 metropolitan statistical areas in the U.S. said personal income in the Gadsden MSA, which includes all of Etowah County, was up 3.5 percent in 2010.

That increase ranked 96th among all MSAs in the U.S. and fifth among the state’s eleven MSAs.

According to the BEA, all but four of the MSAs in the U.S. had increases in personal income in 2010 and personal income rose 2.9 percent in metropolitan areas.

That was an improvement over 2009, when personal income in MSAs dropped 1.9 percent. Gadsden’s personal income fell by 0.4 percent in 2009.

Personal income is the income received by all residents from all sources.

There are three major components of personal income — earnings workers are receiving; dividends, interest and rent; and transfer receipts to individuals that consists of income payments to people for which no current services are performed, such as Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment insurance and veterans benefits.

David G. Lenze, an economist with the BEA, said the “major theme” of 2010 was the recovery from the recession that ended in mid-2009. He said most MSAs had declines in personal income in 2009, but had increases in 2010, and based on overall personal income, there was a recovery.

Lenze said earnings for workers in the Gadsden MSA increased 2.2 percent in 2010, compared to a decline of 4.0 percent in 2009.

He said dividends, interest and rent in the Gadsden MSA increased by 0.7 percent in 2010, but that did not make up for the 4.4 percent loss in 2009.

Transfer receipts in the Gadsden MSA increased by 7.4 percent in 2010, compared to a 10.1 percent increase in 2009. Lenze said that was the biggest increase in income, with transfer receipts increasing by $66 million compared to an increase of $38 million in net earnings and a $3 million increase in dividends, interest and rent.

According to the BEA, the largest growth in personal income in 2010 was 10.1 percent in Elizabethtown, Ky. Grand Junction, Colo., had the biggest decline at 0.9 percent.

<p>Personal income in Etowah County was up in 2010, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.</p><p>A BEA report looking at the 366 metropolitan statistical areas in the U.S. said personal income in the Gadsden MSA, which includes all of Etowah County, was up 3.5 percent in 2010.</p><p>That increase ranked 96th among all MSAs in the U.S. and fifth among the state's eleven MSAs. </p><p>According to the BEA, all but four of the MSAs in the U.S. had increases in personal income in 2010 and personal income rose 2.9 percent in metropolitan areas.</p><p>That was an improvement over 2009, when personal income in MSAs dropped 1.9 percent. Gadsden's personal income fell by 0.4 percent in 2009.</p><p>Personal income is the income received by all residents from all sources.</p><p>There are three major components of personal income — earnings workers are receiving; dividends, interest and rent; and transfer receipts to individuals that consists of income payments to people for which no current services are performed, such as Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment insurance and veterans benefits.</p><div id="DV-viewer-237782-bea-personal-income" class="DV-container"></div>
<script src="http://s3.documentcloud.org/viewer/loader.js"></script>
<script>
DV.load('http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/237782-bea-personal-income.js', {
container: "#DV-viewer-237782-bea-personal-income"
});
</script><p>David G. Lenze, an economist with the BEA, said the “major theme” of 2010 was the recovery from the recession that ended in mid-2009. He said most MSAs had declines in personal income in 2009, but had increases in 2010, and based on overall personal income, there was a recovery.</p><p>Lenze said earnings for workers in the Gadsden MSA increased 2.2 percent in 2010, compared to a decline of 4.0 percent in 2009.</p><p>“So things are getting better,” he said, “but it hasn't completely recovered (from) the loss the previous year.”</p><p>He said dividends, interest and rent in the Gadsden MSA increased by 0.7 percent in 2010, but that did not make up for the 4.4 percent loss in 2009.</p><p>Transfer receipts in the Gadsden MSA increased by 7.4 percent in 2010, compared to a 10.1 percent increase in 2009. Lenze said that was the biggest increase in income, with transfer receipts increasing by $66 million compared to an increase of $38 million in net earnings and a $3 million increase in dividends, interest and rent.</p><p>According to the BEA, the largest growth in personal income in 2010 was 10.1 percent in Elizabethtown, Ky. Grand Junction, Colo., had the biggest decline at 0.9 percent.</p><h3>Increases in personal income in Alabama's MSAs</h3>
<p>Anniston-Oxford, 2.1 percent</p><p>Auburn-Opelika, 2.8 percent</p><p>Birmingham-Hoover, 1.8 percent</p><p>Decatur, 3.2 percent</p><p>Dothan, 2.7 percent</p><p>Florence-Muscle Shoals, 4.1 percent</p><p>Gadsden, 3.5 percent</p><p>Huntsville, 3.6 percent</p><p>Mobile, 3.8 percent</p><p>Montgomery, 2.4 percent</p><p>Tuscaloosa, 3.7 percent</p>